The Influence of Body Position on Determining Aerobic Exercise Intensity for Healthy Individuals

To verify the influence of the resting heart rate (RHR) measurement on different positions in the calculation of VO_2max intensities in young individuals of both sexes.

A cross-sectional study with a correlational design with a sample of 22 men and 11 women, aged 27.8 ± 6.5 years and 29.0 ± 8.6 years, respectively, healthy, active and sedentary, who performed the stress test on a treadmill until fatigue. For the treatment of the data, a repeated measures ANOVA was carried out with Bonferroni's post hoc test.

The comparison of the mean values of baseline heart rate (Bhr) between the groups of women and men showed significant differences (t = 2.329; gl 31; p = 0.027). However, no significant differences were noted for lying (t = 0.057; gl 31; p = 0.95), sitting (t = 0.196 gl 31; p = 0.85) or standing (t = -0.290; gl 31; p = 0.77). But in the analysis of the intensities of the RHR in different positions, the calculations with baseline and lying HR were significantly different (p < 0.05).

The determination of aerobic training intensities by RHR method must observe the heart rate measurement at rest in the sitting and/or standing positions minutes before the training session.